Administrative Structure. The Research Center for Auditory and Vestibular Studies is administered through the Department of Otolaryngology. The administrative structure is given in Figure 1. The Research Center Director reports directly to the chair/head of Otolaryngology. The Center Director also receives advice and guidance from a Center Advisory Board charged with annual evalutions of the Research Center. The Center Advisory Board is also chaired by the Department Head for Otolaryngology. The Center Director oversees the Research Center Executive Committee (Center Administrator and Core Directors and Co-Directors) and the Research Center Staff Committee (Center Administrator and senior staff from each core). These Administrative Center Committees are responsible for the activities of the Center. Each Core Director supervises core personnel and manages the day-to-day operations of each core facility. The Washington University School of Medicine is a large, research institution that is characterized by a decentralized governance that empowers department heads (chairs). The dean of the medical school reports to the Executive Faculty Committee, which is made up of all the WUSM department heads.